


The sweetest of dreams

by HopeSilverheart



Series: Loving Em at 2AM [94]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: (Or at least canon universe), Banter, Canon Compliant, Dancing, Emily loves JJ, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Girls in Love, Inspired by Music, JJ loves Emily, Kissing, Lesbian Emily Prentiss, Love, Or barely any plot, Playlist, Teasing, gratuitous use of lyrics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26687275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeSilverheart/pseuds/HopeSilverheart
Summary: “I had a dream last night,” the brunette finally said, tightening her hold on JJ’s hand. “I always get nightmares when we come here, about the past and my mother and just… things I’d rather not think about. But last night, I had a dream about coming here with you and letting you wash away all the bad memories by replacing them with a better one.”JJ’s heart fluttered at her girlfriend’s words, a shy smile spreading on her lips the same way it always did when Emily said something romantic without trying. Sometimes, JJ wondered if she would ever stop swooning when Emily looked at her like she held the moon in her hands.Or: How music helps JJ and Emily make new memories to get rid of their nightmares.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Series: Loving Em at 2AM [94]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764400
Comments: 5
Kudos: 44





	The sweetest of dreams

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thatnerdemryn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatnerdemryn/gifts).



> So! I actually created a playlist (or more accurately, used and renamed a playlist of my favourite love songs) for this fic, which you can find [right here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3EMlw1lSabKZMJn5UOkI2I?si=8gWogOj1TX-qCxsYbNXViQ) if you want a soundtrack to go with the story <3

“Are you ever going to tell me where we’re going, or am I supposed to guess?”

JJ pouted when her girlfriend only shot her a mischievous look, patting the blonde’s knee briefly before turning back towards the road.

“You’re supposed to wait until we get there,” Emily chuckled, completely disregarding JJ’s pleading glances. “You can try those puppy eyes on me all you want, angel, but I’m not spoiling the surprise. Besides, if you were as good a profiler as everyone seems to think you are, you would already have a guess.”

“That’s unfair,” JJ huffed, swatting her girlfriend’s hand away when Emily tried to reach out for her again. “We never profile each other; that’s rule number one of our relationship, remember? Trusting rather than analysing.”

“Well then, I guess you’ll just have to trust me,” Emily grinned, winking at JJ before taking a sharp left, uncaring of the blonde’s bruised elbows. “I swear you’ll love it.”

“I’d better love it, because the others certainly won’t,” JJ snorted. “Are you sure this is okay with Hotch? He wanted us to leave as soon as the case was done, and since Spencer made the arrest, I assumed you were going to take us to the airport…”

“But it’s clear I’m not doing that,” Emily finished for her, still not giving anything away. “Look, Hotch and the others can start sleeping in the jet whether we’re there or not, and if waiting really bothers them that much, I’m sure they’ll just leave without us. It’s fine.”

“Was that supposed to reassure me?” JJ gaped, slapping Emily’s arm lightly. “Baby, we can’t drive back to D.C. from _Los Angeles_! If you get us stuck here just because of some ridiculous idea, I swear to god I will make you pay for it. You’ll be sleeping on the couch for _months_.”

“I wouldn’t be getting us stuck here for some ridiculous idea, though,” Emily pointed out, taking a right and slowing down as they approached a large building. “I would be getting us stuck here for a _wonderful_ idea. You have to know the difference, Jen.”

JJ opened her mouth to give Emily the smartass answer she’d been aiming for, but before she could get anything out, her eyes homed in on the sign in front of the building. The name rang a bell at the back of her mind, but it wasn’t until she turned towards Emily’s nervous face again that she realised where they were.

“Your high school, baby?” She raised her eyebrows, her gaze flicking back to Garfield High School’s imposing structure. “You know, I always forget that you graduated in the States. It’s hard to remember that part of your life was as normal as the rest of ours when you’re always telling us stories of your time spent around the world.”

“I’d argue that my life has always been more normal than Spencer’s, thank you very much,” Emily scoffed, but JJ could tell her heart wasn’t completely into it.

The brunette’s hands were clenching an unclenching at her sides, a sure sign that she wanted to bite her nails but didn’t want to give her nervousness away. It occurred to JJ right then that she didn’t actually know much about Emily’s life in Los Angeles. She had been vaguely aware that her girlfriend had spent a few years there when she was a teen, but she didn’t know what those years had been _like_.

Emily had gone through countless traumatic things in her life, things that JJ wouldn’t have wished on her enemies, let alone the woman she loved, but JJ had always thought the States had been different. She’d always thought Emily’s high school days had been good, if not a little boring, but the short breaths her girlfriend was taking told another story.

“You okay?” She whispered, wanting to reach out for Emily but not knowing whether the brunette would be okay with that. “We don’t have to stay if you don’t want to be here, you know? I won’t be disappointed or angry if you decide to take us back to the jet and revisit this idea another time. Or never, that’s okay too.”

“No, it’s- I’m fine,” Emily breathed out, smiling weakly at JJ and opening her door before the blonde could say anything else. “You coming?”

JJ hesitated for a second longer, frowning at the hesitant steps her girlfriend was taking, but it wasn’t long until she was stepping out into the cool February air and shuddering lightly as the wind seeped into her clothes. She hadn’t had the time to change after their altercation with their latest unsub, and while her clothes were appropriate for a chase, they were hardly a great winter outfit.

“I was only a student here for a year and a half,” Emily murmured as JJ reached her side, lacing their fingers together without saying a word. Clearly, this was something her girlfriend needed to get out uninterrupted. “My mother knew getting a high school degree in the States would make it easier for me to get into college here, so she flew us back here at some point during my junior year.”

JJ didn’t have any experience with moving around, having spent her entire life stuck in the same place, but she _did_ know that joining a school mid-year was never a fun time. They’d only had one new student during her high school days, but the change had been hard on him, and JJ couldn’t imagine how difficult it had been for Emily, who’d already had to hop from school to school all childhood long.

As much as she had hated growing up in a small town, she knew she was far luckier than most people. At least she hadn’t had to make new friends every year, hadn’t had to fit into a million different boxes depending on where she lived.

“It wasn’t that bad, Jen, you don’t have to look so sad,” Emily laughed softly, raising their joint hands up to her lips and kissing JJ’s fingers lightly. “This parking lot just doesn’t hold many good memories for me. I spent quite a few evenings here waiting for a parent who never showed up, or just wishing I were back somewhere I belonged.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” JJ whispered, unable to stay silent as she watched her girlfriend struggle to keep a smile on her lips. “But why did you take me here, if you don’t even like the place? Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than happy to be learning about your childhood, but was there something you wanted to do? Do you want us to trash the sign or something? Because I _will_ do it, laws be damned.”

“No, no,” Emily snorted, her eyes lighting up with genuine glee as she focused on JJ again. “Nothing like that. I just- I was here for prom, you know? And I was supposed to go with this boy – yes, a boy, these were dark times – but he never showed, and he kept telling me he would be there in a second, so I sat on this curb for hours, hoping he would show.”

“What an idiot,” JJ mumbled, narrowing her eyes at the thought of someone stupid enough to ditch _Emily_. “He gets a date with the most amazing girl in the world, and he decides to stand you up? What a fool.”

“Thank you, baby, but I really wasn’t quite as much of a catch back then as you seem to think I am today,” Emily shook her head. “I don’t blame him for what he did, even though it stung in the moment. But in the end, it just added another painful memory to this parking lot.”

JJ wanted to ask about the reason behind their nightly trip again, ask Emily why she would drag herself back to a place she hated when they could be on a jet with their friends, but she had a feeling her girlfriend was leading up to that reason. She just needed a second longer, and JJ was more than happy to give that to her. Emily didn’t do things for nothing, which meant there _had_ to be an explanation behind her sudden need to visit a school she had hated.

“I had a dream last night,” the brunette finally said, tightening her hold on JJ’s hand. “I always get nightmares when we come here, about the past and my mother and just… things I’d rather not think about. But last night, I had a dream about coming here with you and letting you wash away all the bad memories by replacing them with a better one.”

JJ’s heart fluttered at her girlfriend’s words, a shy smile spreading on her lips the same way it always did when Emily said something romantic without trying. Sometimes, JJ wondered if she would _ever_ stop swooning when Emily looked at her like she held the moon in her hands.

(Sometimes, she wondered if Emily would ever stop looking at her like that.)

“And what kind of memory would you want us to make instead?” She asked, swallowing around the lump in her throat and focusing on her girlfriend rather than on her overwhelming feelings of delight and love. “Because as far as I’m aware, torching that sign would definitely count as a good memory.”

“I’m sure it would,” Emily chuckled, tapping the tip of JJ’s nose gently. “But I- I might have had something else in mind.”

Before JJ could ask her what this _something_ was, or even inquire about the dark blush rising on her girlfriend’s cheeks, Emily held her hand out to the blonde, looking at JJ through her eyelashes.

“Would you dance with me, mon ange?”

JJ lost her breath, her heart beating faster and her fingers trembling as she accepted Emily’s hand. Her girlfriend _knew_ what her voice did to her when she spoke French, and it was completely unfair of her to use it when JJ was already feeling thoroughly wooed.

“It’s not prom night,” JJ whispered, looking around them nervously. She knew they weren’t doing anything wrong, but something about this moment felt like it should have been hidden from the rest of the world.

“No, it isn’t,” Emily hummed in agreement. “Which means there’s no one around to bother us. It’s just us two, angel, you don’t have to worry about anyone showing up.”

“I’m not dressed to dance,” JJ added, gesturing at her clothes self-consciously. Emily always managed to make her outfits look amazing, but JJ’s post-arrest look was very rarely attractive. “Hell, I’m not even dressed to go out. I’m a mess.”

“You’re far from a mess,” Emily shook her head, tutting disapprovingly at JJ. “You’re beautiful, mon amour, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Just because you’re not dressed to the nines in a ballgown doesn’t mean you’re not the most stunning woman in the world, Jen.”

“We don’t even have any music,” JJ breathed out in a last attempt to justify her hesitation. Really, she was just nervous about dancing with Emily, but her girlfriend didn’t need to know that. “How are we supposed to dance without music?”

“I’m sure you can find something to put on,” Emily smirked. “I know you have thousands of playlists on your phone, surely you can find an appropriate one to plug into the car and play for us. Don’t even try to tell me you don’t have something that would work, baby, because I know it would be a lie.”

It _would_.

JJ had never thought of herself as an overly romantic person, but Emily… Emily had changed that for her. Before meeting the woman, she’d only had a couple of playlists on her phone, mostly to keep the different genres of music separate. With Emily in her life, though, she’d received dozens of song recommendations that she’d downloaded and listened to on repeat, and it had only been a matter of time before she’d created a playlist made just for the love of her life.

“Oh my god, you have a playlist for me, don’t you?” Emily exclaimed gleefully, pulling JJ back towards the car and brandishing the blonde’s cell phone with a triumphant cry. “Let’s see, what could you have- Seriously, Jen, _She means everything to me_? You’re such a dork.”

“But I’m _your_ dork,” JJ grinned sheepishly. “Now, do you still want to dance, or would you rather spare yourself the pain of getting your toes stepped on?”

“I don’t mind when you step on me, baby girl,” Emily winked, earning herself a reprimanding look from JJ – as well as a very, very bright blush, thankfully mostly hidden in the darkness. “Seriously, I don’t care how good or bad you are at dancing. Hell, I’m a terrible dancer most of the time. I just want to hold my girlfriend close and give her all the love she deserves. Is that too much to ask for?”

For a moment, JJ couldn’t speak. All she could do was stare at her girlfriend in awe, wondering how on earth she had gotten lucky enough to meet someone like Emily Prentiss. She wasn’t sure what she had done to deserve a woman like her, but the more time she spent with her, the more she loved her and knew she would do anything to keep her in her life.

There were things in the world that were worth fighting for tooth and nail, and love was definitely one of them. _Emily_ was definitely one of them.

The first song on the playlist started playing, and JJ’s hands shook as Emily wrapped her arms around her waist and rested her head on the blonde’s shoulder. She hadn’t done this in years. The last time she had slow danced with someone had been on her prom night – ironically – and she couldn’t have cared less about her date.

Now there she was, with the woman who mattered most to her, swaying aimlessly in the middle of a parking lot, her every move wavering with uncertainty as she tried to make this moment as perfect as possible for her girlfriend.

Emily wanted a happy memory to replace all the pain of her younger years, and JJ would be damned if she didn’t give her perfection.

 _In this life you must find something to live for_.

“Is this…?”

“Yeah,” JJ murmured, hiding her darkening cheeks against Emily’s neck as her girlfriend tried to pull away from her. “I’m not- I tend to forget to look for new songs because I’m so comfortable with the ones I know, but I always try to find the ones you mention because I know how much _you_ like them. This one’s very pretty, so…”

“You, mon ange, are truly exceptional,” Emily chuckled, pressing a kiss to JJ’s forehead. “You know you don’t have to do that, right? I send those to you because I think they’re nice, but you don’t have to look them up and add them to love playlists and-”

“I know,” JJ shrugged. “But I want to. You’ve got better taste than I do, and it makes me feel closer to you when we can’t be together.”

Emily didn’t say anything, but JJ didn’t miss the way her arms tightened just a little bit more around her, or the way she inhaled sharply before letting out a long breath, almost as though she were trying to hold back tears.

They stayed like that for a while longer, listening to the first song and then the second, and then too many for JJ to count. She knew every lyric by heart, having listened to the playlist hundreds of times in the past, thinking about Emily and falling more in love with her girlfriend with every word.

She wasn’t sure when every love song had started sounding like an ode to Emily in her mind, but at some point in the last few months, it had become impossible for her to separate her girlfriend from the people in the songs she listened to. Maybe it was a little pathetic, but JJ liked to think it was a little romantic, too.

Besides, Emily certainly didn’t seem to mind.

 _And at last I see the light_.

“I cannot believe you put a Disney song in a playlist meant for me,” Emily snorted as the Tangled soundtrack played behind them. “I should have known you would put something completely and utterly _you_ in there.”

“It’s one of the first movies we watched together,” JJ reminded her with a pout, pulling away from her girlfriend just enough to narrow her eyes at her. Tangled was one of her favourite movies ever – _sue her_ – and watching it with Emily had been absolutely wonderful. “Of course I put it in my playlist dedicated to you.”

“Dedicated to the woman who means everything to you,” Emily corrected, but JJ huffed and swatted her shoulder as she leaned back in to circle her arms around the brunette’s neck.

“You’re the only woman who’ll ever mean everything to me,” JJ rolled her eyes. “You should know this by now, baby. I wouldn’t have created a playlist for just anyone, but you deserve the entire world.”

“Stop that,” Emily mumbled. “I’m supposed to be seducing you, Jen, not the other way around.”

“Seducing is supposed to be a two-person affair,” JJ reminded Emily. “I can flirt with you as much as I want to, because you’re my girlfriend and _have_ to deal with it. If you don’t want me to seduce you, then you’re welcome to break up with me. Yeah, I didn’t think so.”

She giggled at Emily’s horrified face, rubbing her nose against her girlfriend’s until her frown turned into a smile and the horror turned into fondness.

“I’m never going to break up with you, mon ange,” she whispered, her eyes full of love. “You’re going to be stuck with me for a very long time if I have anything to say about it. You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon, even though you should know better than to seduce me when I’m trying to woo you. How am I supposed to impress you with my dancing skills if you’re busy making me playlists on the down-low?”

“Maybe it’s just a sign that you should improve your tactics,” JJ grinned mischievously. “Because if this playlist is all it takes to impress you, you’ve got a lot more coming for you. Believe me, baby, creating things for you is basically a hobby of mine at this point. When I’m not at work, there’s a good chance I’m thinking about you or putting a playlist together for you or writing godawful poems on my phone that no one will ever see.”

“Not even me?” Emily gasped in mock-offence. “If there are poems being written about me, I feel like I should have the right to read them.”

“Maybe in a few years,” JJ teased. “Once you’ve upgraded from girlfriend to something more.”

“Was there a proposal in there somewhere?” Emily grinned, laughing as JJ tried to step out of her arms. “I’m kidding, angel, I know your proposal will be much grander than this. Although it would have certainly transformed this place into the parking lot of my dreams.”

JJ didn’t even deign her statement with an answer, only pressing a light kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek before grinning as the next song on the playlist came on. _Adore You_ was one of JJ’s favourite songs to dance to when she was alone at home, wearing nothing but her underwear and belting the lyrics out slightly off-key but _very_ enthusiastically.

 _Oh honey, just let me adore you_.

“Well hello there,” Emily laughed as JJ broke away from her and started going through the – terrible – moves she had choreographed in the privacy of her bedroom. “And here you were saying you couldn’t dance.”

“Very funny,” JJ flushed darkly. “Are you going to dance with me, or are you just going to stand there and gawk at me as I make a fool of myself? Because I could always stop and get back in the car, you know. I don’t particularly enjoy embarrassing myself in public places.”

“You’re not embarrassing yourself,” Emily scoffed, starting to move her body in synch with JJ’s and grinning widely when they both fell out of rhythm, unable to keep up with the music. “I think you look gorgeous in the moonlight, and I’d give anything to see your body move like that on a regular basis.”

“You see my body move in _plenty_ of ways on a regular basis,” JJ smirked, purposefully stepping closer to Emily and grinding her hips against the brunette’s. “This is nothing compared to what you’ve seen me do in the past; it’s just far more clumsy than usual.”

“Clumsy isn’t a word I would ever use to describe you,” Emily smiled, letting her hands rest lightly on the sides of JJ’s waist as _Adore You_ flowed into the next upbeat song on JJ’s playlist.

They danced like that for what felt like hours but was probably only minutes. They were both lost in their little bubble of movement and music, laughing and kissing each other and trying to keep up with the songs as they flew by. JJ couldn’t remember when the last time she’d had so much fun had been, but she knew she would do everything in her power to make their little dancing session a regular occurrence.

Soon enough, though, her playlist rolled around to another pair of slow songs, and JJ let herself melt against Emily’s body, breathing in the now-familiar scent of her sweat and perfume mixed together.

“The team is going to think we had sex while they were waiting for us,” she chuckled underneath her breath, trying to regulate her breathing again. “They’re never going to let us live this down.”

“We’ll just tell them the truth,” Emily assured her.

“What? That we were dancing like a couple of lunatics in the middle of an empty high school parking lot?” JJ snorted. “I’m sure they’ll find that _very_ believable. Besides, I thought we were just going to… you know, keep this between us.”

“Of course we are,” Emily smiled softly. “The best memories are the ones I get to keep just between me and the love of my life.”

 _In this moment, I can breathe_.

By the time her playlist came to an end, JJ was on the verge of tears, still cocooned in the safety of her girlfriend’s arms. She wasn’t sure why she felt like crying, but she had a feeling it had something to do with how much she loved the woman in front of her.

Emily wasn’t perfect, but god if she didn’t come close to it. Every single day, she amazed JJ with new ways of loving her and showing her how much she cared and she made JJ _lose her mind_. Standing there, Emily’s entire body pressed against hers, she realised she never wanted to let this go.

She wanted to dance with this woman in parking lots forever, wanted to kiss her even when everyone was watching, wanted to tell her she loved her every minute of every day, wanted to dedicate a thousand playlists to one Emily Prentiss. She knew there had been a time when her world hadn’t revolved around this one, amazing human being, but she couldn’t remember it.

And frankly, she didn’t think she _wanted_ to remember.

“Are you okay, angel?” Emily whispered, stopping their swaying now that they no longer had music to accompany them. “You look like you’re about to cry.”

“I just love you very much,” JJ sniffled, leaning in to kiss Emily gently before turning back towards the car and wiping away the stray tear that had managed to slip out. “Sometimes, I can’t believe that I get to be here with you, loving you and reminding you that no matter how unfair the world is, there’ll always be someone who cares for you.”

“And I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you in my life,” Emily murmured, taking one of JJ’s hands in one of hers again and slowly leading her back to the car. “Thank you for this.”

“For what?”

“For helping me turn my nightmares into a dream,” Emily answered, looking at JJ with such love and sincerity that it had the blonde tearing up again. “For not questioning me when I dragged you into an empty parking lot in the middle of the night. For dancing with me even though I know you’d rather keep those skills hidden in your bedroom. For being here, no matter how hard things get.”

“Anytime, baby,” JJ smiled as she opened the driver’s door and let Emily slide past her, brushing her fingers against her girlfriend’s skin as she sat down. “Seriously, anytime.”

With one last look at the brunette, she shut the door and hurried to get into the passenger seat, linking her fingers with Emily’s as soon as she was settled down and the two of them were ready to go.

And as they left the parking lot that would undoubtedly feature in both of their dreams for the foreseeable future, JJ smiled and promised herself she would bring Emily to her high school too, someday. Maybe they could make a tradition out of dancing in empty parking lots, no matter how unconventional it might seem to others.

_Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams._

**Author's Note:**

> Heya guys! Thank you so much for reading! Just a quick apology for the doubtless mistakes/typos to be found in this fic. These fics are always unbetaed and unedited and - in this case - written with a fair amount of wine in my system, so you'll have to excuse any and all mistakes >.< I've quickly found myself falling in love with this pairing, and I couldn't not write another fluffy fic with these two women in it, so I hope you all - and especially my own Emily - enjoyed this little story!
> 
> Love, Junie.
> 
> (find me on [tumblr](https://hopesilverheart.tumblr.com/))


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